SIL International Launches the World’s First Digital Language Divide Measurement Tool

Innovation has been baked into the DNA of SIL International from the very start, under the leadership of its very first President, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Doctor Kenneth Lee Pike. 

Dr. Pike was a celebrated and globally recognized expert in linguistics—the originator of a number of key theories and practices in linguistics. SIL International has carried Dr. Pike’s practice of championing innovation through to today, working in collaboration with the most cutting edge research and practices to create some of the very best datasets, artificial intelligence, website tools, and more that are now available to linguists across the globe.

This being said, although many people take for granted their ability to use such a rich variety of data, tools and information in their first language (‘L1’), it’s important to remember digital equality does not exist across all languages. Indeed, for languages that are ‘non-digital’, this means no hardware or software support (e.g., no keyboards, no operating systems, no fonts), without which there is no content of any kind. 

For speakers, readers and signers of digitally weaker languages, it can mean being forced to operate in a different language or face exclusion from vital access to digital language content.  Accordingly, attention is turning to focus on exactly which languages are (and are not) supported and to what degree in various aspects of digital technology.  It’s an important factor in humanitarian and technological terms, meaning the ‘Digital Language Divide’ is one of the most critical issues facing billions of people across the planet. 

The Digital language divide is felt most strongly in Africa.

Figure 1: Digital Language Support per Country (Green = more DLS, Red = less DLS)

To help address these challenges, we’re happy to highlight the first product offering from SIL International’s commercial subsidiary, Derivation. This product is based on a research paper from Gary Simons called “Assessing Digital Language Support on a Global Scale,” which provides a first-of-its kind dataset for digital language support metrics. Stephen Jones, CEO of Derivation notes, “In the era of the Internet, smart phones, PCs and global media, it’s incredible to think over 3,700 languages simply do not exist in digital terms. For the first time ever, using our Digital Language Support tool, linguists, researchers and companies can measure and visualize the Digital Language Divide impact - comparing & contrasting individual languages.”

The Digital Language Support tool offers an array of visual analysis options.

Figure 2: A comparison of Bulgarian and Krio language metrics

What has emerged from SIL International is a cutting-edge Digital Language Support Intelligence Tool that will allow linguists, companies and educators assess the digital language support available for a given language. Because of the continued innovatory practices of SIL International, linguists have an excellent new tool to assess and then address the challenges created by this divide. We’re grateful for their work, and hope you’ll take the opportunity to explore how it might be used to help your organization meet this critical need.